Fragments Of Memories
by Kirdane
Summary: The clock is ticking, can Draven save his soulmate and avoid a confrontation with the Night World Council?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone, this was my first fanfic that I wrote about 4 years ago! I'm re-writing at the moment so any suggestions/pointers on the plotline,characters etc will be greatly appreciated! Here is the first chapter. Please, please review!

There was something about her. The others couldn't put their fingers on it. Just something…the way she moved, or the way she spoke.

She wasn't very tall, but not what you'd call small either, just average really. Her dark hair flowed down a few inches past her shoulders. It was an odd colour, a sort of midnight black. It had a weird shimmer to it. Her eyes, well they were something else. They were a strange ice blue, almost silver colour and they had flecks of a deep purple. They were eyes you could fall into. Not many people looked at her eyes though; she tried to keep herself to herself.

The only thing normal about her was probably her clothes, but even then they could be a little strange. At this moment in time however, they weren't. She wore a black low cut top, and dark hipsters that accentuated her figure. She smiled to herself, deep in thought, as she walked past a group of her friends and appeared not to notice them.

Draven waited with the rest of the group. Kate, Mollie and Josh were deep in conversation about an up-coming party, Draven just watched and waited, he'd been doing that a lot lately , after all he thought, sometimes waiting is the only thing you can do. He watched as she walked past, she didn't notice him, but he smiled at her anyway. It was the type of smile he rarely used; it was a mixture of sadness and wisdom. It was an almost angelic smile.

"Earth to Draven?" Katie was waving her hands in front of his face. He realized he had been lost in his thoughts.

"Oh sorry Kate, what is it?" he replied nonchalantly.

"Oh it's nothing, what were you thinking about anyway? You seemed miles away." She laughed sweetly. "Oh yeah I forgot that's not really unusual for you lately, but you still haven't told us why! You're in love aren't you?"

"Oh drop it Kate, and don't be silly." She always made him kind of moody.

Draven was tall, dark and well, handsome to say the least. He had slightly long, black hair, that often covered his eyes, he had a habit of pushing it out of the way with his hand when he was stressed or annoyed. His eyes were dark, maybe a really dark brown, at other times they had almost a silvery tint to them, no one dared look long enough to find out. He was lithe and well muscled and he had that bad boy manner about him that made all the girls want him. He didn't want any of them though, just Her. He wasn't prepared to tell them that yet; they didn't have a clue about him really. His past, his feelings and his thoughts, he kept them to himself, but he couldn't help dropping his guard when she was around, she didn't know who he was though, they were friends of course, quite good friends, but she hadn't the slightest idea about who he really was. She'd find out soon though, it was only a matter of time. But how much time did they have? How much time does anyone really have? Well he knew some answers,but that was something that was a mystery to him and to most people, after all, some things are best left unknown.

Draven mused over this for a while, and decided to go and talk to her. He walked along the crowded hall, still lost in thought, and then he saw her, but then he saw him too. Ethyn. He despised Ethyn with every particle of his being. Draven knew he loved her, and that she loved him in return, but he also knew that it wasn't right, it wasn't meant to be. She was his. For eternity.

"Arianne!" called Ethyn as he saw her. She always seemed to look different every time he saw her; she was like an angel to him. Ethyn was tall and athletic, with blond hair and blue eyes; he almost looked like an angel himself. He was kind and nearly opposite to Draven in every way. He loved Arianne, he would die for her.

"Oh hey Ethyn!" she flew to his arms and hugged him. "It's good to see you! I've missed you!"

"Yeah you too babe. Have you seen Draven about today? There was something I wanted to ask him"

"Nope, not yet anyway, I'll probably run into him later though, want me to ask him for you?"

"No, it's ok. It's not that important." Ethyn sighed.

The fact was, it was important; he'd had some weird guys following him home the night before. They were wearing the same symbol, that Ethyn had noticed Draven wearing. A black iris. That couldn't be a coincidence. .

"Hmm. Is everything alright Ethyn? Draven hasn't got you into any trouble has he?" She had a concerned look on her face. Draven was one of her best friends, but she knew that the people who he hung around with outside school were a bit strange. He didn't always tell her the whole truth about what he did with his spare time.

"No, no. It's fine. Really it is" He could tell she didn't believe him, they knew each other too well, but then again, sometimes she still managed to surprised him, Arianne was that kind of person, totally unpredictable, but not in a totally reckless way. It just made her even more fun to be around. It made him love her even more.

"Well ok, if you say so. Anyway, I've gotta run, I'm late meeting Mollie!" They hugged again and Arianne sped off down the hall, leaving Ethyn to his thoughts.

_It was dark, dark enough so you could only see the faint silhouettes of the objects. The building looked like an old warehouse, it smelled musty and damp. Suddenly things began to get brighter, and a table was illuminated in the centre of the room. Thick smoke was rising, as four well built men sat smoking cigars and playing poker. The first man, the dealer, was bulky; he was wearing a suit of black as were the rest of the group.He wore a heavy gold ring with some kind of black emblem. He was grumbling inaudibly to the others in the group, and the atmosphere was tense. They seemed to be waiting for something. There was someone else in the building, standing in the shadows, he was saying something, about someone, but it didn't make sense, it was blurred and too quiet. The man in the shadows began to turn, the whole room started to spin. The other men in the room turned, picking up on something, sensing the stranger in the room. There was a loud bang. It all faded to white, to black, then to nothing._

Arianne awoke with a start


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah, just the person I wanted to see." Ethyn had spotted Draven and was walking up to him in an imposing manner. Draven rolled his eyes and turned to face Ethyn.

"Oh it's you. What do you want now? This time I haven't done anything so don't bother if it's going to be one of those lectures."

"No, you haven't done anything wrong, well not yet anyway. I just wanted to ask you something."

"Well shoot. Some of us have got stuff to do you know?" Draven was starting to get very impatient. He usually did with Ethyn, he really couldn't stand him.

"Look, I think this has something to do with you, so if I were you I'd hear me out and don't be so moody, what has gotten into you lately?" The atmosphere started to get very tense, but both guys were used to this, they rarely talked; if they did it was to keep the peace for Arianne's sake, not for the company.

"Nothing, so come on. Hurry up and ask."

"Well there were some really weird guys following me home the other day." Draven rolled his eyes again and looked around absently.

"And what has this got to do with me or Arianne for that matter? They're not following her are they? No, she would've told me. So do explain."

"I noticed a couple of the guys had that same weird iris thing on their clothes. You know the one that you sometimes wear. I was just wondering if it was some sort of weird gang or something. I'm intrigued to know why they're following me of all people."

Ethyn stared at the ground. He could never look at Draven full in the face, he always made him nervous. Ethyn was not the type of person to be scared of anyone, he was more than capable at looking after himself, he was tall and athletic. He played football and basketball for the school team.

Draven sighed and replied with little emotion. "So you thought it had something to do with me? I'm not the only person on the planet with that particular design on my clothes you know." He stalked off in his usual manner and left Ethyn standing there before he could say anything.

He might have seemed given the impression that this news was unimportant and that it didn't bother him at all, but it did. It was starting again, and he could sort of feel it too. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, it made his head slightly spin. He regained control of himself quickly. He had to keep a level head about this. He had to protect Arianne and he couldn't let his feelings get in the way. That wasn't what he was here to do after all. The problem was that that symbol had everything to do with him, him and the Night World. He was concerned. Why would the Night World want anything to do with Ethyn? He was hoping it was just a matter of association with him, but there was a chance that they had discovered the truth.

"_It's too late for that now. By the time you get to her it'll be way too late and you know it. You may as well give up now. It's not like your little buddy is gunna save you either." He let out a loud, deep, rumbling laugh. Suddenly there was a dull thump, and he choked on his laughter. He face went still, his mouth fixed in a horrific grin, and his eyes glazed over as he fell to his knees and dropped to the floor. There was a thud as his head hit the floor. It was like a marionette that had been suddenly cut from its strings in mid performance. Draven stood behind the body of the fallen figure, with a large piece of wood in his hand and a shocked expression upon his face._

"_C'mon! Quick! We don't have much time left!" He untied Ethyn's bound hands and helped him stand. He was badly beaten, but there was no time to worry about that just yet. There would be more men coming very soon. He thought about leaving Ethyn here, he could get to her quicker that way, then maybe there'd be some hope, but he knew that he would never forgive himself, even though he didn't really like Ethyn, he didn't want him dead. No one deserved to die that way, especially in their hands. He supported Ethyn and they moved as fast as they could down the stairs into the basement. It was dark, really dark, they looked around and finally they saw a shadow in the corner. Draven flicked the light switch on. There was a loud crash. Everything turned to white, to black, to nothing. _

Arianne jerked awake. It had happened again, another dream. They were getting more intense now. She felt as if she was watching, powerless, as the story seemed to unfold the characters became more familiar. She was so sure that she knew them. That it was somehow important that she remembered. The problem was that it was all a blur when she woke up.

Arianne got up slowly and dressed, she went downstairs to get some breakfast still racking her brain trying to remember the dream. She had such a strong feeling that it was important. She couldn't seem to shrug it off. She decided to give Draven a call, they hadn't spoken properly for a while and she needed a familiar face. She picked up the phone and gave him a call; she drummed a tattoo on the sideboard as she waited for him to pick up. A few rings later and all she got was his answer phone.

"Hey, it's me, leaving you the four hundredth message this week, why don't you ever pick up you're phone anymore? I'd like to talk to you about something, but I'll probably try and catch up with you at school now. See you in a bit." With an empty feeling she hung up. Why didn't he answer his phone anymore? Was something wrong or was it just her?

"Hey sweetie, how are you this morning? Not long now till the summer holidays is it? Have you got anything planned yet?" Arianne's Mother had just walked down the stairs in a dressing gown, still half asleep. She stifled a yawn. She was platinum blonde with clear blue eyes, almost the complete opposite to her daughter. She worked as a lawyer, which is how she'd met Arianne's Father. They'd met at a party in law school. They'd been together ever since.

"Morning." Replied Arianne sleepily, "I'll have a think about it and let you know, I've gotta dash now, Ethyn will be here to pick me up soon." The holidays felt like forever away. She was hoping to spend some time away with Ethyn and catch up with Draven. She hoped she would be able to repair their friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

Draven watched her walk over the campus towards some of her friends. He was sitting in his usual place, at the base of a big shady oak tree on the college grounds. His stomach tightened as it always did when he saw her. He was very tempted to call her over, but for now he was keeping his distance, he needed to work out how he was going to explain everything to her. He had no choice now; he had to prepare her for what she was going to face in the near future.

Draven wasn't your average Night Person, and he certainly wasn't a stickler for the rules. He was a Daybreaker, but only because of Arianne. The Night World would have never accepted his relationship with her and her family, who were blissfully unaware of its existence. He didn't want them hurt, so he had accepted their support but kept his distance. She had no idea how much she meant to him, or the lengths he'd go to protect her.

When he'd first met her, they were very young, it was at school, he noticed her immediately, the dark haired, shy little girl who kept to herself and wouldn't talk to anyone. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and in some ways it was. They ended up getting paired for a science project, and they instantly hit it off. It was a few years later when Arianne was sixteen and Draven seventeen, that he figured out there was more to that amazing electric feeling they had sparking between them whenever they were near to each other.

He felt it pulling now as he reminisced. He was pretty sure she was oblivious to it. It was part of the arrangement. It'd only take one touch - the briefest contact – and all the barricades put in place by the witches would crumble, not only the ones dampening the soulmate link, but also those keeping her blissfully unaware of how special she really was, not just to him. It was the main reason he was keeping his distance, the pull of the silver thread still affected him, and if he gave into that he'd have to tell her everything. He would undo all the hard work that had been put into place to protect her. It wasn't time for that yet, because as soon as the wards fell, she wouldn't be the only one to know the truth. They'd know too, and there'd be nothing to stop them coming after her.

He was going to have to plan this carefully. He got up, stretched and headed towards his car.

Arianne watched Draven out of the corner of her eye as he got up and walked towards his car, skipping class again no doubt.

"I don't know why you don't just go and talk to him. You two have been really distant lately," Mollie said observantly, waking Arianne up from her reverie, "have you had an argument or something?"

"No. An argument would be something, he's just been really cold and distant lately, and d'ya know what? I just can't be doing with the moodiness at the moment. When I call he's never there and I just get the distinct feeling he's avoiding me." She sighed wearily.

Arianne had come along way from the quite, shy girl that wanted nothing to do with anyone else. She still liked her privacy and was not open with very many people, but she was certainly not shy. The combination of Draven and her friends had brought her out of her shell. She had started to stick up for herself more, it was an important skill when she was with Draven, they tended to argue a lot lately and his acerbic comments often put on her on edge. Sometimes she wondered if he even wanted her around at all. Then there were the times where she caught him watching her, he had a look in his eye that he never had with anyone else, and when he laughed and smiled, it transformed the tough exterior. It made her even more frustrated that he was distancing himself from her. But she never seemed to get around to asking how he really felt. Part of her didn't dare, she cared about Ethyn after all. He was fun, caring, smart and well, safe. She could rely on him to always be Ethyn. He didn't have the dark moods that Draven did, and he never tried to push her away.

"Hmm, have you tried maybe just asking him what's up?" Katie piped in. Katie was tall and slim, with blonde hair and brown eyes and a very bubbly personality. She exuded confidence, and was the type of person that was great fun to be around but sometimes only in short doses.

"No, and I'm not planning too, I'm fed up of being the one who is always chasing him! I'm always calling to see if he's ok and to see if he wants to talk, but all I get is inarticulate grunts and lame excuses as to why he has to rush off." She shook her head and went to get up as the bell rang. "Come on guys, else we'll be late."

Draven had decided to skip the afternoon, as he got into his car he flipped open his phone and punched in a number.

"Hello?" The voice that answered was rich and languid.

"Hey Rose, its Draven. Is it ok if I come over today? I need to talk to you guys."

"Thank Goddess, you've got in touch. We've been trying to reach you for days! Are you ever at your apartment? And why haven't you been answering you're phone?" The voice did not stay languid for very long, it was now sharp and berating. "No, never mind. Don't tell me over the phone just get your ass over here quick. Something has come up." With that she hung up, leaving Draven slightly shocked and not a little worried. He turned the engine on and sped out of the school.

It didn't take him long to reach the old warehouse that housed the area's Daybreak safe house. It wasn't a big place. In its day it had been a big industrial area, but once that dried up, most people moved into the centre of town, or to somewhere else entirely. Some warehouses had been converted into flats, others offices and some had just been left to fall apart; they tended to attract a breed of people that wasn't exactly pleasant. They were also part of the reason a lot of the business had moved out, and those who had moved in to take their places were either mostly disgruntled students who didn't have much money and wanted to get away from their parents or the type people who wanted somewhere quiet to do their so called 'business'. It was perfect Night World territory.

He parked in an alleyway beside the building, and walked straight in the door carefully concealed around the back.

_It's Draven. _He sent a mental shout out to occupants of the building, so that his entrance did not cause alarm.

As he walked into the lobby he was greeted by a guy, slightly shorter than himself with dark brown hair and penetrating green eyes. He was throwing up and catching a small orb of green energy. "I was wondering when you'd finally show up." He was leaning against the door frame looking accusingly at Draven. "We've been trying to get hold of you for days now."

"Hi Mason," He replied unemotionally, he would not let Mason's abrupt manner get to him. He could not afford an outburst here. "So where do they want me?"

"They're in the main meeting room, of course." Mason shrugged and walked off. Draven reluctantly followed. They did not bother with small talk on the way to the meeting room. Mason did not trust Draven, and he made no small secret about it. It did not help that the witch had a grudge against vampires, even one like him. Neither were typical daybreakers.

Draven strolled into the meeting room. There were several people already seated. All were unnaturally beautiful and had an air of calm and power about them. A young girl, probably around nineteen or twenty with thick, curly, auburn hair, turned and looked at him with cool grey eyes and nodded a greeting. He knew her, by name and reputation, Jaci. She spoke for the shapeshifters. Next to her sat Rakesh, a heavily built lamia, with dark hair and eyes, and coffee coloured skin, he looked in his twenties, which Draven knew meant nothing; he could be hundreds even thousands of years old. Just like the made vampire who sat opposite. Henry looked about eighteen, forever frozen at the age he was changed; he had russet brown hair and golden eyes. Next to him sat Kalea, she was here representing the witches no doubt. She had silvery, white hair and very pale violet eyes. She always looked dreamy and far away, which she often was, rarely in the present, part of her mind was always focused on what might be, she was the witches' strongest seer. The two other people sat at the table were the leaders of the area's Daybreak teams. On the left was Akantha, who was a dark haired woman of around thirty with sharp features and deep brown eyes. Beside her sat Claudio, a middle aged looking vampire with broad shoulders and a strangely warm expression.

He was surprised that the four were here, they spoke on behalf of the Daybreak Elders. He knew when he saw them something big must be happening. Either that or something had gone wrong. He took a seat at one end of the long mahogany table.

Kalea look towards Draven, her voice was almost a whisper it was so soft. "The council are aware of our arrangement."


	4. Chapter 4

"What? How the hell could they have found out? I've kept to the rules!" Draven shouted in disbelief. "How could this happen so soon?" He got up and turned away from the figures at the table.

"Time is not an issue, child. You should have learnt that by now, if anything." Kalea replied gently. Not only a seer, Kalea's prowess with time magic was widely renowned.

"How am I supposed to protect her? I'll have no time to prepare anything, and it's only going to be Ethyn and me again! You know what happened last time! Isn't the purpose of these things to repair what went wrong? To stop the same thing from happening again?" He was pacing up and down the room. "If you don't give us more time we'll never be able to do it! Someone will end up dying, again!" Draven had never been this worked up about anything. He was usually calm and collected.

"Listen, you will be able to do this. You are not the same people you were before. Do not let your feelings cloud your judgement. Just protect Arianne, she will handle the situation, it is her destiny. I shall grant you more time as well, child, if that is your wish."

"You will not be alone this time either." Rakesh's commanding voice rang out, suddenly loud compared to Kalea's soft dulcet tone. "This is why we're here, to help you after all."

"We are going to provide you with a team." Draven spun to face the speaker. Jaci continued, "The best that Claudio and Akantha are able to spare." Her stony grey eyes bored into his, he opened his mouth to protest but she raised a cautionary finger. "Do not see them as a burden, they will be able to help and in some instances guide _you_. Remember the last time you tried to do this alone. It is best to learn from mistakes."

"You can't be in two places at once either, and no doubt Ethyn will still manage to get dragged into it all again. You will need help with the damage control, and help protecting the human. The rules have changed this time." This was the first time Henry had spoken during the meeting; he had a quiet voice that seemed to focus all eyes to him.

"Fine." Draven slumped down in chair, defeated. They knew he would have trouble accepting direct intervention, he felt that the situation was his fault therefore he should be the one to rectify it. However, he knew they were right. Trying to work alone got him in this mess in the first place. He sighed and look to the leaders. "So what happens now?"

"I will work with Kalea to produce the delay that you need. We will also put more wards around her. They may have become aware of her, but we can hide her power and mind from them for a little longer. They will not be able to find her." Akantha's voice was sharp and heavily accented.

"In the mean time I will introduce you to your team, you will get acquainted, bond, that sort of thing." Claudio grinned and went to stand up.

"Wait, I forgot to mention, the reason for me getting in touch in the first place. Someone has been following Ethyn."

Akantha looked at Kalea, a small frown, wrinkling her brow. "The human? This is not good news. I was going to suggest putting similar wards round those closely associated with her, family and such like, but if they are already tracking them it will be useless."

"We need to establish if it is really the council sending people to follow them. It is cause for concern if they are moving that quickly." Kalea added. "The only way to discover her will be to track someone that has contact with her and get that person to lead them straight to her, and to break the wards all they need is one or more witches with sufficient power."

"We could send a separate team to monitor her friends and family, they may be able to intervene if the council's drones get too close," suggested Jaci.

Claudio approved with a nod. "You and your team's first mission will be to discover if they are actually targeting her friends. We do not want to pull people off other important missions for a false alarm."

Draven rubbed his eyes with his hands and pushed his hair out of his face. "Right. I have one question though. How did the council find out in the first place?"

Kalea looked sadly at him, "Circle Midnight has their own seer too, my twin, we have a strong bond, sometimes we share visions. I can only assume she has seen one of mine regarding Arianne. If not, then she has probably had her own vision concerning the council's part to play in this. I am sorry; we have not come up with a way to block this."

"It's not your fault. At least we know that they know. We won't be caught completely unaware." He shrugged and gave Kalea a small smile. "I guess it's time I met this team. We've got people to find after all."

Jaci smiled, "In the mean time we will do our best to find out more information and place more wards around the girl. If you need any more help, you know where we are; our resources are at your disposal. The rest will be in your hands."

With that, Draven got up and walked to the door, he paused before he left, "thank you. I'll protect her. I owe her that. Maybe I couldn't save her last time, but this time I will."

At this Kalea chuckled softly. "You have no choice child."

And with that he left the room.

Rose was waiting for him outside the meeting room, with a concerned look on her face. "I'm sorry that it wasn't good news." She placed a hand on his arm.

He shrugged and carried on walking. "It's done now; all that matters now is how we deal with it. Do you know anything about this team that's been assigned to me?"

"Well," she said in her lilting voice, brushing a stray lock of deep brown hair off her forehead as she caught up with him. "I'm not supposed to say until Claudio introduces them all to you, but, and you didn't hear this from me ok? I think you'll be happy with who've they picked. I personally think they're a great bunch." She shot a dazzling grin at Draven, showing very white, small teeth, and winked mischievously at him. That could only mean one thing. She had been placed on the team.

Rose was one of the first daybreakers he'd met after the incident. They'd got on well from the start. She was playful, fun, very determined and at times annoyingly stubborn. She'd come to Circle Daybreak fed up of the prejudice and treatment she received by the majority of the Night World community.

He gave her a disappointed look, "oh, I guess that means I'm stuck with you then."

"Hey!" She punched him playfully on the arm. "I'll remember that"

He winced and put on a pained expression, "If the whole team is like this then I'll be in big trouble, I'll need some form of padding" he grinned and carried on walking. They had a tendency of winding each other up.

Rose made a noise that sounded very much like a snort. "You'll need more than that if you carry on!"

He laughed and felt some of the tension from the meeting melt away. "I'm starving, how long have I got before I meet the troops?"

"Enough time to grab a bite I guess. Depending on what you fancy, of course." She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.


	5. Chapter 5

"So when do I get to meet everyone?" He was feeling much calmer after a good meal, the safe house had a brilliant canteen, and he had not eaten properly in ages. He looked expectantly at Rose who sat across the table from him.

"Well, about that, one of the guys thought it might be good to have a little beach party to get everyone acquainted. You know, have a bit of fun, and introduce everyone in a less formal situation." She smiled sweetly back at him.

"Okay and this will be when? You do realize we have a deadline. Literally."

"This Friday, it's the last day of term, so why not? We probably wouldn't be able to get everyone together before then anyway, and we certainly won't be able to make a move if everyone is tied up with end of term stuff. Some of us have parents to please." He often forgot that most of the younger daybreakers that were likely to be on his team would have parents and families that actually cared and, therefore, did not have the kind of freedom he had.

"Fine then. Want me to drive?"

"Of course. Pick me up, and then we can get Arianne and Ethyn." He looked at her disbelievingly, and shook his head, he did not want to argue with Rose, but this was getting ridiculous.

"What do you mean, pick them up? That would be crazy. A party full of vampires, shifters and witches, and you want to bring two humans along as well?"

"Firstly, they're not going to know what they are," she ticked the points off on her fingers "secondly, we're not going to do anything to them, thirdly, if they're with us, at our teams party, which means our team only, anyone sent from the council won't be able to follow them. It'll be the safest party this side of the world for them. They just won't know it."

Draven sighed, defeated, he nodded his agreement. He trusted Rose, and if she said it was safe then he was pretty sure that she would have done everything in her power to make sure that that was the case. Besides, he knew he could really do with letting off some steam.

"Anyway, maybe you'll be able to talk to Arianne again. I know you two haven't been talking lately. It really won't help us any if you two are at each others throats." She shrugged, and put her hand on his arm, suddenly serious, "She's going to need you when this all comes down you know."

* * *

Friday afternoon rolled around quicker than Draven would have hoped. Rose had already invited Arianne and Ethyn, and everything was arranged. According to Rose the beach house was heavily packed with wards and protections inside and out. Not only that, the team would have concealed weapons on them at all times. It was always good to be optimistic after all. That reminded him, he may as well take a couple…just in case.

Before he went to pick Rose up, he swung by his apartment. Tucked away in a concealed closet, was his personal cache of weapons. He had collected quite a few over the years, from a beautifully balanced katana to a handcrafted wooden quarterstaff. He decided to go for an ornate dagger with a blade made from oak, and a silver knuckle duster since both could be easily concealed and would deal enough damage, combined with his strength, he'd have no problem bringing any intruders down.

He picked Rose up, who smiled at him as she slid into the front passenger seat. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course, you're going to have to give me directions to this place though after we've got the other two."

"Not a problem, I have a very good sense of direction." She winked at him and he drove off. They picked up Arianne and Ethyn and headed out to the beach house. It was a slightly awkward and quiet drive. Arianne and Draven had said the bare minimum to each other, so Rose and Ethyn ended up doing most of the talking.

They finally arrived and parked up the car. "Hey Rose, can I steal you for a moment before we go in?" He motioned for Arianne and Ethyn to go ahead.

"What's up? Apart from the major tension between you guys." She studied his face, and seeing the look in his eyes, suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh no, don't tell me you, of all people, are nervous about meeting everyone!"

"No," he replied after a slight hesitation "I was just checking one last time that the wards were all in place and back-up and that sort of thing."

Despite his denial she could she tell he wasn't being altogether honest. The slight blush on his cheeks gave it away. She chuckled "Yes, yes, stop worrying. It's all in place and solid. Everyone is on full alert despite the party atmosphere that we're missing right now, because you're worrying." She took in a deep breath. "Can we go in now please?" She looked at him pleadingly with an almost puppy-like look in her eyes.

It was his turn to chuckle, "Right, yes, let's go and have some fun." _If that's at all_ _possible_, he thought.

They walked through the living room; Rose started to point out people. "There's Hayato, he's the shorter one with the black hair, and he's standing with Mason, you already know him" Draven groaned, he didn't get on well with Mason, and it wasn't for lack of trying. He'd have to keep an eye on him.

"Who's that over there?" He nodded towards a dark haired youth with sharp bird-like features.

"Ah, that's Bran; he's a new recruit from Ireland. They brought him over especially for this. He's standing with Alyssa." She leant closer to him and added under her breath, "That girl is one powerful witch, with quite a temper; I'll warn you now, don't get on her bad side."

He smiled over at the blonde haired young witch, who had looked their way, obviously sensing their scrutiny.

"Right now, let me see, who else is there," she surveyed the room. "Ah yes, coming through the door on the left there is Connor, he's nice, quite a talented witch." He saw her blushing out the corner of his eye and smiled.

"Who are those two by the window?" The last two unnamed people in the room were sitting on a very comfy looking sofa by a huge bay window. One was lounging with an almost feline grace, he immediately thought shape shifter. The other radiated confidence, she sat with he legs crossed politely listening to her companion.

"Well, that's Sophia and the guy she's talking to is Ryder. Sophia is alright, she's normally the one taking control of everyone, she's probably the oldest one here, and Ryder is a good guy, bit of a party animal though. This is his house."

* * *

Arianne looked around the room; it was decorated with warm colours, and very comfy furniture. The problem was she couldn't take her eyes off the other guests. They were stunning, she had been talking to some guy named Bran, since Ethyn had wandered off for more drinks, he'd been gone a while now though. She spotted Draven and Rose in a secluded corner talking closely; she felt a pang of jealousy. She used to be able to talk to him like that. He caught her looking and gave her a small smile. She felt a pull towards him as she always did when he looked at her, a feeling that she needed to be near him, she felt herself blush and looked away. At least he smiled though, that was an improvement, he wasn't completely ignoring her. She reached out for her drink as Ethyn came back to her side.

"Strange party eh?" He asked her, holding her free hand in his and smiling at her. "You having fun or do you wanna go home now?"

"We should stay for a bit longer, I'd like to see if I can drag Draven away for a chat in a minute." She gave his hand a small squeeze. "You wanna go back then?"

"No, it's interesting; there are some quite cool people here." He looked over to where Rose and Draven were sitting, "Now is your chance hun, his lady friend seems to be getting up."

Something made her want to protest this, _how could he have someone else?_ But she bit it back; after all, he was only her best friend, not boyfriend. He may have found someone whilst they hadn't been talking. Panicked whispers raced through her mind. _What if she was the reason that they weren't talking?_ He'd had girlfriends before, with his looks how could he not? But maybe this was the one, and he wouldn't want to spend any time with her any more, just this new person, _what if they were growing apart and they'd never talk again?_

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Draven was standing right in front of her trying to get her attention, Ethyn had also released her hand but she hadn't felt it. She shook her head to try to drive the thoughts away. _I am being completely irrational_, she told herself and looked up at him questioningly.

"I think we need to have a talk." She followed him out and the walked along the beach for a while saying nothing but enjoying the cool night air and the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant lately, there's been a lot on my mind." _Mainly you_, he added to himself. He stopped and looked out over the sea.

"You could have talked to me about it. We used to talk about everything." She stood beside him and went to put her hand on his arm. He moved before her hand connected and went to sit down.

_That was too close_, he warned himself, his hair rose on his arms and he could feel the crackle of sparks where she had almost touched him. It was hard to resist, but he had to, he couldn't give in. She came to sit down next to him, but fortunately didn't try to sit too close. She must've got the hint.

"I saw you with Rose, she's nice." She was staring at floor, blinking back tears at the obvious rejection she had just received, she hoped he hadn't noticed. The unspoken question lingered between them. She didn't want to know, but she had to.

"Yeah." He hadn't thought of using Rose as a cover story, but he considered it now. It was temptingly viable. It'd hurt her, but it'd make her keep some distance, without having to stop their friendship. He wasn't sure if he could manage without her completely. It had been hard enough not talking to her. "She's nice, we get on pretty well." At the same time he brushed Rose's mind and informed her of the plan.

"Oh," She started to draw little patterns in the sand; she was trying to distract herself. "I'm happy for you."

He hated lying to her, but he couldn't see any other way right now. Every part of him screamed to tell her the truth, to tell her everything, but at the same time he was scared, he didn't want to see her face or feel her pain when she found out that the last year had been a complete lie.

"I'm sorry." He didn't know quite what to say, he couldn't comfort her, and if he said anymore, it'd just be more lies. "I'll be around more, I promise." At least that wasn't a lie.

"Really, no more avoiding me or not returning my calls?" She looked up at him, at least there was still some hope left in her eyes.

He smiled at her. "Not if I can help it," He paused and looked away, "So are we okay?"

"I think so." She looked round to where he was supposed to be sitting, but he was standing, his body tense. "Whats wrong?" she whispered. Suddenly afraid, she hadn't realized how far they were from the house. She heard footsteps.

"Get behind me now," it was almost a growl and Arianne got up and obeyed. She didn't question him; something in his voice dared her not to.

There was a soft thump, and a surprised yell.

Draven relaxed and looked over at her, "its Ethyn." She didn't ask how he knew, but let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

She rolled her eyes and went to investigate the lumpy shadow on the floor, barely holding back her laughter as Ethyn got up and brushed sand off his clothes and out of his hair. She could hear him mumble under his breath. "Stupid piece of driftwood."


	6. Chapter 6

"So where's the girl?" Draven looked over. Discovering the owner of the voice, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Mason seemed to enjoy provoking him. He was lounged over one of the sofas, smirking and throwing the small vibrant green orb of energy up in the air and catching it, it was an irritating habit.

"They're walking home." He said coldly, trying to inject neutrality into his tone, they didn't have time for a fight; every moment he wasted arguing she was another step further away.

"Alone? I really didn't think you were _that_ stupid. Looks like I was wrong." He snorted derisively and got to his feet. "You just gonna leave her like a lamb to the slaughter? Decided to come back here and carry on the party thinking none of us would notice? Well, I've got news for you; we know where our priorities lie."

He didn't bother arguing back, he bolted across the room straight towards Mason, who was gradually expanding his orb, transforming it from an amusing play thing to a deadly weapon. He grinned wickedly as Draven approached. Indecision swirled in Draven's mind, part of him wanted to react and attack, to punish Mason for slurring his loyalty, however, he could also feel the soul mate link humming faintly in the background of his mind and it reminded him of Arianne, reminded him she was at risk.

The room had gone deadly silent, no one moved to interfere. They stood opposite each other, a few feet apart, muscles rippling, the tension between them permeating the room. There was a low growling, their eyes were locked, Draven struggled against the urge to shut Mason up for good and tried to hold himself back, the thought of Arianne sobering him and bringing him back from the edge of rage and he relaxed slightly, forcing his body into a less aggressive posture.

"Coward." Mason snickered. The urge won and Draven gave into the rage, he snarled and lunged, in the same moment Mason threw his ball of energy, it fizzed and crackled as it flew toward Draven.

"Enough!" Alyssa stepped forward, hands outwards. Both Draven and Mason flew backwards against the walls on opposite sides of the room and remained suspended there. Draven quieted and didn't try to fight the bonds holding him. While Mason struggled, chuckling under his breath in an almost manic way, Connor sighed and lazily clicked his fingers and Mason's ball of energy disappeared before it could crash through the window.

"This is childish! We are wasting time." She sighed impatiently. "I assume that Arianne and Ethyn have already left?" She looked towards Draven who nodded an affirmative. "Right, if you are both finished with your male posturing, we need to get organised." She let them both down, Draven landed gracefully on his feet but Mason, without the vampyric reflexes landed in a ruffled heap on the floor. He got up glaring at Draven and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair.

"I told you, you shouldn't get her angry." Rose quietly leaned in and whispered to Draven. He couldn't help but smile.

"I suggest we form teams and surround their route, after we find out which way they're going. It would've been much easier if they hadn't had a head start." Sophia glanced over at the two guys, still shooting venomous looks at each other. "You two need to concentrate now, forget about it and sort your personal problems out later."

Rose moved forward, "Ryder and I can discover which way they headed in, we'll be able to find them easy" She smiled nervously and Ryder nodded his agreement.

"Good." She continued in a business like manner. "I'd prefer each team to have at least one person who can relay messages to the other teams." Alyssa surveyed the room thoughtfully. "Rose, Draven and Connor, you can form the first team." She walked over to the table and moved her hand across the surface. Two small lights appeared, and then three more, like small candles in the dark, she pointed at them and looked up at Draven "You stay behind them, stay in the shadows and keep at a distance. The last thing we want is them to see us and blow the cover and our advantage."

Draven almost sighed with relief, things were getting done, and he didn't have to work directly with Mason. He knew he could get too sensitive when Arianne was involved, but that witch went too far. He'd have to have words if this dispute continued to get in the way. He would let nothing stand between Arianne and him.

"Ryder, Hayato and Sophia, you take the left." Three more lights appeared on the table, left of the first. "Bran and Mason, you're with me" Mason opened his mouth, about to protest, "no arguments. I want to keep an eye on you after that outburst. We'll take the right. If anyone sees anything, let the other teams know, but don't move in unless it is absolutely necessary." She looked over at Ryder and Rose, "Are you ready?"

They both nodded and slipped out of their clothes as their skin began moving and changing, hands became paws and eyes turned feral. It only took a moment before the change was complete and they both raced out of the door into the warm night air.

It didn't take long before Rose picked up the scent; she howled to alert Ryder and ran back inside the beach house. She changed as she got in the door and was shortly followed by Ryder. The rest were sitting round the table waiting. Alyssa changed the map on the table once they'd figured out the route the two must be taking by the direction they'd gone. The small lights flickered and moved into place, like chess pieces across the map. It was time to move. Alyssa brushed her hand over the table once more and the map disappeared. "Is everyone ready?" There were general sounds of agreement, and a grunt from the still chagrined Mason.

Draven's team headed out first, Rose threw her bag over to Draven who caught it as she changed and bounded on ahead, picking up the scent. They moved quickly and it didn't take them long before Arianne and Ethyn were in sight. Rose had to change again in the shadows of an alley. They didn't want to be seen. "Something doesn't smell quite right around here." She said quietly as she straightened her dress. She wrinkled her nose and frowned.

"What do you mean?" Connor gave her a concerned look. He was slightly taller than Rose, and was slim but toned. He had strong, almost chiseled features and a gentle smile.

"I can smell Arianne and Ethyn, but there's also something else here, I think it's been masked though. Someone has tried to disguise it or hide it, it's almost like a gap in a group of colours, there's just nothing there. It's hard to explain." She gave an apologetic shrug.

"It doesn't sound like they're very clever then," Connor said thoughtfully. "Masking a scent with another would have been better, but removing it just sort of makes it more obvious that someone is hiding something. It could have been done magically though, but it was very rushed if it was a spell." He gave Rose a reassuring smile. "They can't be far off."

"I can't sense anyone. Then again if they are following her, they might be shielding themselves." Draven sighed; he knew this wasn't going to be easy. He kept his mind shielded, and tried to sense the other teams. There had been no signal from either of them. They would be in place by now, following the couple closely and watching for any signs of trouble.

He managed to pick up on Sophia's mind, '_I think we've found something, Rose said that someone may have tried to hide their tracks, we haven't seen anything yet though. How's it going on your side?'_

'_Nothing at all here,' _Sophia's mental voice was mellow and serious in his mind. '_Is_ _there any news from the others?'_

'_No, not yet, I'll let you know as soon as there is.' _He sighed, no news was good news he thought. Or was it? He surveyed the area, looking over the tops of the buildings, a lot of the roofs were quite flat and would be an easy place to hide, but his vampyric eyesight did not pick anything out. However, his hearing did.

He whirled round as deafening screech filled the air and a giant black bird came hurtling down from the sky, its wing torn and broken. It took Draven a split second to move into place as the falling raven suddenly became a body landing limply in his arms. Rose screamed.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is everything sorted with you two now?" Ethyn squeezed Arianne's hand as they walked. Arianne was unhappy with the situation between her and Draven, which was understandable; he was her best friend. Even though Ethyn didn't like him, what he didn't like more was to see her miserable.

"Sort of, I think we've still got a way to go till we get back to normal. That's if he stops pushing me away." She sighed. "There's something he's keeping from me. He used to tell me everything, and then he just clammed up on me. He hasn't told me anything since."

"He probably has his reasons." He was careful how he spoke to her when they were talking about Draven; the last thing Ethyn wanted was an argument with her. He knew she didn't need that, she needed him. However, despite wanting her to be happy, Ethyn didn't trust him; he came up with too many excuses, and had let her down far too many times lately.

"Hmm, he's just so hard to read now." She smiled sadly. "Thanks, for asking though. I'm still kind of angry at him for shutting me out, but he's a good person really, and you're right, I'm sure he had a good reason for keeping whatever it is from me. Maybe he's planning a surprise or something." She grinned at Ethyn. She always managed to see the good in people and situations, even through the hurt and anger. Ethyn loved her innocence, but sometimes he worried about the vulnerability it gave her.

Ethyn decided not to say anything more, but chuckled quietly to himself. They stopped walking and froze as a loud screech bounced off the walls. As they stood and listened they heard the sound of bins being knocked over, and then what seemed almost like a roar, there was something about the noise that made their hair stand on end. _Just cats fighting_ he told himself, but his brain struggled to find a suitable denial for the next sound, it sounded like someone screaming in pain in an almost animal way. He put his arm round Arianne and pulled her closer, forcing her to carry on walking just that little bit faster. "Just cats." She looked up at him, the fear barely hidden behind her eyes.

* * *

"Oh, Bran" Rose's voice was a whisper as she gently probed his arm with her trembling fingertips. "It's broken in at least 4 places." Her fingers deftly combed the rest of his body. There were huge cuts across his chest, and one along his cheek. They looked like claw marks. "Can you find anything to splint his arm with?" She looked at Draven and he nodded, he set off, searching for anything that might help,

"I can help heal his cuts a little, but I daren't mess with the breaks, Alyssa should be able to help with them." Connor held his hands just above Bran's chest and muttered a spell, his face a mask of concentration. Rose watched, holding her breath. Nothing seemed to be happening. "It's not working, they're not healing. They must've got him with silver; it would explain why he still isn't conscious." He said gravely, looking steadily at Rose. She found it hard to look away, she felt herself almost being pulled into the depths of his eyes.

It didn't take long for Draven to return, Rose managed to look away, feeling slightly guilty about her moment with Connor, she blushed and shook her head at Draven's questioning glance. He had managed to find part of an old broom handle and he carefully snapped it into an appropriate size, and handed it to Connor. "What's the damage?"

"We need to get him to a proper healer; I don't know the spell to purge the wound of silver safely." He cursed his lack of knowledge.

Draven searched the area for Alyssa and Mason's minds, but came up empty, so he tried Sophia. This time he was more successful. _'Sophia, we have a problem, Bran has been seriously injured, and we can't get in touch with the other two, we're going to have to move in. We need to know what happened.'_

'_You can't leave Bran though, what if they come back for him? You'll need to stay with him until we can get him moved to the safe house. We'll start moving round now to see what we can find out. Ryder should be able to find them."_

'_Don't worry, Rose is staying with him, but we still need someone keeping an eye on the other two.' _Sophia was almost shocked at the coldness in Draven's mental voice as he mentioned Arianne and Ethyn. She knew why; he was trying to detach himself, keep his mind on the mission. If Alyssa's group had been taken down, whoever had attacked them was now free to move in on Arianne.

'_Hayato will carry on following them at a safe distance but he'll still be close so that he's there if we need him. Hopefully it won't come to that.' _

"Are you sure you'll be ok with him while we go and sort this out?" He put his hand on Rose's shoulder.

"Of course. I'll look after him." She smiled reassuringly at him, "Now go!" Her voice was still shaking, and there was still a visible tremor to her hands.

* * *

It didn't take them long to find where the attack had happened, both Alyssa and Mason were out cold, covered in various cuts and bruises, fortunately they were not in as bad a shape as Bran. Draven knelt by Alyssa, checking for any further injury, she awoke with a gasp, rasping out one word, "Run!"

He was confused for a moment, trying to find the danger, there didn't seem to be anyone else here, then he heard a cry and a dull thud, he looked around to see Connor sink to the floor. His assailant standing above him, with a maniacal grin and what appeared to be a baton in his hand. Behind Draven, something starting growling, a leopard was approaching from the shadows, he looked around and saw two more figures approaching, one definitely a vampire by his movements. The other two had to be witches. His thought was soon confirmed when he saw one of the approaching figures suddenly light up, and a ball of fire came racing toward him. He managed to duck and roll to the side, the ball careened into the bins behind him which immediately caught fire. He was surrounded, and he needed to check on Connor, he wasn't moving.

The manic witch with the baton took that moment to charge at Draven, he pivoted away from, but not enough, it caught his shoulder, the pain blossomed along his nerves, but he managed to grab hold of the witch's wrist. The others started moving in. Draven's eyes turned to molten silver in response to the pain in his shoulder and the fury he felt. He twisted the witch's arm till he dropped the club, but the witch managed to utter a spell and Draven was sent flying backwards. The leopard moved in to pounce. He saw the impending attack and tried to move but the witch held him down with his magic and laughed, it made his features look demonic in the moonlight.

His laughter was cut short when a sleek cougar collided with the leopard mid-pounce, and sent a powerful swipe towards the leopards face. The leopard fell against the wall, but got up again swiftly; the two predators circled each other, and then collided again, in a flurry of claws and teeth. Draven had trouble following it; the movements between the two were so fast. He could not see who had the upper hand, but the cougar had the advantage of size and it was fresh into the fight. He did not have long to concentrate on them, the other witch and vampire had swiftly approached to gain some control over the situation. The witch that held him down was not laughing any more but was still smiling horribly. Draven got his first proper look at the other two figures, the other witch looked fairly young but the power radiating from her was immense, it made his head hurt slightly. No wonder Alyssa and Mason were both down, even though they were such powerful witches themselves.

"Day breakers?" She looked at the vampire standing next to her who nodded in agreement. "Coincidence? I think not." She smiled almost sweetly down at Draven. She made a quick movement with a slender hand, and he flew against the wall, only inches above the flames. "Is this nearly all of you now? I think your kitty cat has nearly been taken care of, and the rest certainly have," she glanced round at the others still lying on the floor. "So that just leaves you then. I think I'll have some fun with you." She started to slowly lower him closer to the flames. "You can struggle if you want; it makes it more interesting for us if you do." She chuckled.

He tried to break free at first, it didn't work. He felt the heat get more intense, his legs felt hot and tingly, pain flared through his body as the flames licked at his legs. Every muscle fought against the power holding him there, inching him deeper into the burning flames. He received his chance to break free a few moments later as Sophia ploughed into the other vampire and began grappling with him. She kicked him and managed to break free of his grip, and pulled a knife from the waistband of her jeans where it had been expertly hidden. She made several strikes at him in quick succession, he stupidly tried to block every one, each time the wood hit his arms and hands it deadened nerves and bruised tissue and bone.

Draven used the female witch's distraction and sent her a mental punch, she rocked back on her feet and he felt the bonds holding him crumble and fall away, he managed to push himself off the wall and away from the fire with minimal singeing. He did not stop for damage control, but ran straight into the witch, pushed her to the ground and surrounded her mind with his and squeezed down, effectively knocking her out.

The cougar also seemed to have control of its tussle; it was now charging towards the crazy witch even though it was clearly limping. The previous opponent now in human form was slumped against the wall, he looked in bad shape. Draven spared no sympathy however, remembering Bran; his lips formed an inaudible snarl.

The witch had managed to pick up the club again, resorting to physical damage rather than his magick. Instead of swinging for the cougar as Draven had expected. He ran. The cougar looked round at Draven for instructions, he was panting, his eyes full of pain, grateful for the short lull in the fighting, but still willing to give chase. Sophia had knocked out her opponent and was binding his wrists and ankles with rope made from bark.

"Are you both okay?" She looked worriedly over at the others.

"Could be worse" Draven turned as he heard the deep voice. The cougar had switched to his human form and was sitting on the floor nursing his ankle. Ryder was covered in blood, but Draven was not entirely sure it was actually all his, as he looked over at the other shifter, he guessed not.

'_What has happened? Is the situation under control?' _Hayato's voice was cool and clinical in Draven's mind, welcoming in the chaos of the aftermath of the fight.

'_Alyssa, Mason and Connor are down, and we've got three of theirs, but the last one ran off.' _Draven moved round to check on the others with Sophia.

'_Do you want me to carry on following the human couple, or –,' _His mental voice was abruptly cut off. Draven wasted no time, he got up and ran.

* * *

He traced his steps back until he found the slight scent of her perfume floating on the breeze, just strong enough for his senses to pick up. He kept running. He heard the scream and ran faster; he had to get there in time. The soul mate link tugged him towards the sound as he felt a burst of pain, belonging to her. His muscles screamed in agony but he ignored them. He dreaded what he'd see when he got to her, he tried to think positive, but he was failing._ Hayato was there of course, he might have just been distracted; he might still be ok and be protecting her. Why didn't he stay and follow them, why did he have to play hero, the others would have managed without him. It was his job to protect her_.He snarled, and pushed himself harder, almost tripping over Hayato's limp form as he ran, but he could not stop, not now. All he could think of was her. 


	8. Chapter 8

"Should we follow him?" Ryder was finishing tying up the remaining witch and shape shifter. He was still having trouble putting weight on his ankle. It was starting to irritate him.

"We can't. They need our attention, and we still have Bran and Rose to think about. I really hope they're ok. Are they secure?" Sophia gestured to their three hostages.

"Yup, they won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Draven really did a number on the witch, she seems almost comatose. The others woke up, briefly." He shrugged. "What about you?"

"Me?" She replied absently as she gently turned Connor on his side so she could inspect his head wound. "I'm fine. I'm more worried about them. Could you have a look and see if Alyssa's bag is around anywhere? It should have some restorative potions in it."

Ryder combed the immediate area and quickly located Alyssa's bag. Glass tinkled as he picked it up and his heart sank, some of the vials had been broken when the bag had been flung aside. He hoped they weren't the ones they needed. He walked back to Sophia, and gently tipped the contents out on the floor.

"There's two left. We will have to use them on Alyssa and Mason, I think Connor's injury will be too severe." She threw one of the vials to Ryder and he caught it as he walked over to Mason's side. It was an unspoken feeling but both of them would rather have Connor awake, he was much better dealing under pressure, not to mention a much stronger witch.

Alyssa came round first, sitting up dazedly and coughing. "Where's Bran?" Sophia placed a supporting arm round her shoulders.

"With Rose, he needs your help. Connor did all he could to help ease the pain." She looked around sadly, "But so do we." Alyssa nodded and got shakily to her feet, using the wall for support she walked over to Connor and kneeled down beside him. She examined him carefully.

"It's not as bad as it looks," She smiled reassuringly at Sophia. "But it's going to take a few minutes, and I'll need Mason's help."

"Did someone say my name?" Mason said groggily, running a hand through his tousled hair. He knelt opposite Alyssa and winced as he saw Connor's wounds. "Ouch. Now that's gotta hurt." Alyssa raised an eyebrow and held out her hand to Mason, who took it.

They sat quietly for a few moments, one hand resting on Connor, the other locked with each other.

It was dark, too dark. Arianne rewound trying to figure out how she'd ended up tied up and sore. Her mind came up blank. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the light, or lack thereof. A soft moan alerted her to the fact she was not alone. She couldn't make out who the occupied the room with her, she hoped it wasn't Ethyn. The room smelt damp and musty, unused. It smelt familiar. She tried to figure out why, she was pretty sure this wasn't a regular occurrence. Now her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, she could see a figure lying prone on the floor; unfortunately it was not light enough to make out any distinguishing features. She tried to call out to see if it was Ethyn, but when she opened her mouth no sound came out. Arianne began to panic.

Draven stalked along the rooftops, attempting to catch the scent which always made his heart beat twice as fast. Thoughts of regret rushed through his head, he should have told her sooner, should have stayed with her, in the shadows as she walked home. If he'd done that she might've been safer. He shouldn't have left it to someone else. The pain of being apart from her was almost unbearable, but he knew that his presence might also accelerate the process he was trying desperately to avoid, and in doing so may have lost her just as quickly as he had now.

"Damn wards," he muttered under his breath. Obviously the extra protections had not done enough to protect Arianne from their preternatural radars. "Get a hold of yourself; this is no time for self pity. More action". At that moment, he caught that beautiful scent. Draven leapt of the rooftop and ran.

A/N Sorry for long wait, uber lots of work for uni! Why oh why did I chose a science degree! This is a very short chapter, but it's just to tide you over until I get a real chance to write a proper chapter!


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